To say that George R. R. Martin's Winds of Winter is very, very highly anticipated is putting it very, very mildly — so any micro-crumb of information regarding a release date is going to attract attention. Today's pulse-quickening clue comes courtesy of Amazon's French site, which has a release date for the book listed.

Every year for almost a decade, the most anticipated gadget release has been Apple's iPhone. And with any iPhone release, there are also swarms of rumours, leaks, hearsay and arguments that begin to paint a convincing picture of what's coming this week. Although rumours and features are always subject to change, this is most likely the next iPhone.

We've been waiting four painful years for new MacBook Pros, and if you've been holding on to your dying machine in hopes that a refreshed line must be imminent, we're sorry to inform you that you're going to have to wait even longer. According to Bloomberg's Apple sleuth Mark Gurman, the new MacBook Pros are coming — but not at the early September iPhone event as many had hoped.

These days, creators struggle to keep the details of their upcoming movies and TV shows from leaking on the internet, so they can preserve their big surprises. And this leads to some pretty feeble attempts at misdirection, with cast and crew vehemently denying what everybody already knows. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, though... it just looks sad. Here are nine times the pop culture industry tried to mislead everyone, and just failed so hard.

J.J. Abrams had a lot of fun filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, putting friends and famous people all over the film in cameos. Some we noticed, others we didn't, but it now sounds like director Rian Johnson may be continuing that tradition on Star Wars Episode VIII.

HTC has seen better days. Ever since launching the much-loved One M7 in 2013, the Taiwanese company's been unable to create a phone with equal charm. The One M8 and M9 leaned too heavily on past successes, and HTC's own version of Android, HTC Sense, still lags behind.

While almost everyone in the universe is convinced tablets are dead, destined to be replaced by some hybrid laptop, Apple remains committed to the product category. If rumours are true, Apple is doubling down on its insistence that we all need new tablets. The company is rumoured to be working on a brand new, ultra-slim iPad Air 3. Or maybe it's a smaller version of the iPad Pro. Whatever it is — it's bound to make a splash.

Everyone always wants to know what Apple is up to, and Apple is always trying to hide what they're up to. Luckily, we have the internet, which is chock full of rumours and obsessive analysis from Apple fanboys.

Apple is almost ready to talk about its first product event of the year. Two independent reports claim that the company will have a special media event on March 15. A budget iPhone, an iPad Air 3, and a Watch update will likely be the stars of the show.

As soon as powerful processors were tiny enough to pack into your pocket, companies big and small have been hunting for other ways they can strap tech onto our bodies. Fitness trackers and smartwatches were only the beginning, and if the last few months worth of patents divine wearables' near future, smart rings are next.

Technology is full of rumours on what might be — ranging from the highly probable to the likely impossible. Covering technology means slogging through dumb press releases, scam-y Kickstarters, horribly photographed leaks, and hazy speculation that often needs another level of scrutiny to figure out if its even worth my (and your) time.

That iPhone 6c rumour just got a little more real with a report from 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. Sources tell Gurman that Apple is planning their next-gen Watch event for March, but the kicker here is that a new iPhone could also be appearing.

Apple cultivates a unique kind of rumour mill, one that often gets fixated on an idea and just keeps bringing it up year after year. Because eventually, it's bound to be right...right? That's the case with a new rumour suggesting Apple's going to ditch the trusty 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone. But unlike past speculation, this time it has a little more weight behind it.

According to a new report, Apple is said to be in discussion with banks to build a person-to-person payment system that would allow people to transfer money between phones without the need for cards or checks.

If the new Apple TV didn't do it for you, an overhauled Chromecast might. A new report suggests that a new model will be launched later this month, with majorly updated hardware and new features — including Spotify support.

Another iPhone day is upon us, but this year, there's a twist. While we can undoubtedly expect to see a new phone, we also expect a look at a very meaningful upgrade to the ageing Apple TV. The latest iPhone will put more power in your pocket. The new Siri-ready Apple TV might just transform your entire home.